A coalition of Multnomah Village residents is upset about the sale of a now defunct Portland Water Bureau site to a residential developer.

Some say the city didn't notify them that the city's Freeman Tank property was even for sale. City officials say they followed the legal process and there's nothing they can do about the contract with Renaissance Homes for infill development, a $140,000 deal agreed upon last year.

Jeremy Solomon, who has lived just across Southwest 42nd Avenue from the now defunct water tower site for 13 years, said "nobody was ever consulted" about the deal and unhappiness is growing in the neighborhood.

The Freeman Water Bureau land, at 8625 Southwest 42nd Avenue, is adjacent to Woods Memorial Natural Area, a 36 acre city park. Solomon told neighbors the water tank site acted as a de facto park for years. Solomon wants the land to be formally converted into a natural area, which, he said it already is.

"It's a lovely property," Solomon said, ""There are foxes, there are owls."

Solomon, in particular, raved about the "incredibly large flock of woodpeckers."

Commissioner Nick Fish oversees the Water Bureau, and he wrote an email to Solomon breaking down the particulars of the deal. The Freeman property was earmarked by the city as "surplus property" in 2006. In 2010, the City Council formally identified the site as ripe for sale. A resident did approach the city with an offer to buy the land, but that never moved forward. Renaissance, however, did sign a "legally binding contract for sale," of the property in 2012.

While Portland followed the public notification process by holding a city council meeting and posting the sale online, Fish wrote, "I believe your concerns raise a larger policy question about whether there is a strong enough public notice requirement" in the case of surplus properties.

Some of the possible changes could be small, such as putting a for sale sign on the property, something neighbors said never happened. The bureau could also make surplus properties available online prior to sale, and officials could make an effort to notify neighborhood coalitions about possible sales of public property.

But overall, city officials say they followed the process.

"In this case we've got a legally binding contract," Sonia Schmanski, Commissioner Fish's policy director said. "We have to play by the rules and can't put ratepayer's dollars at risk."

Portland could face legal action were it to renege on the deal.

The request that the land become a park could fall on deaf ears. The Bureau of Parks & Recreation passed on the Freeman property when approached previously.

Schmanski said the nearby Woods Memorial Nature area is a vast place. "The woodpeckers will have a home," she said.

A group of 80 residents calling themselves the Woods Park Advocates signed a letter to Water Bureau officials saying the deal should be eradicated, citing, among other things, the city ordinance mandating the property be sold for fair market value. "We dispute that this comes anywhere close to the property’s fair market value."

The Multnomah Neighborhood Association is rallying residents to support its cause, and plans to address the City Council next week.